my blog

Come and join us in our new venue, The Artworks Elephant, near Elephant and Castle tube station. We will perform your stories through theatre and explore the theme 'Where are we going from here?' - personally and collectively as a society. Please see details on the above flyer.

Three years ago I trained with the European Reminiscence Network to become a reminiscence facilitator and to work with people with dementia and their family carers in order to support their sense of identity and self-worth through creative arts-based approaches, particularly drama, movement/dance, visual arts, song and storytelling.

I also currently work as an oral historian with National Life Stories at the British Library and the University of the Arts London, conducting and researching in-depth life history interviews.

Reminiscence and recording oral histories are distinct yet interrelated practices in that they both facilitate memories, storytelling, active engagement and deep listening. I’ll be presenting a paper alongside other oral historians and family carers at an upcoming seminar exploring links between reminiscence in dementia care and oral history. The event has been organised by the European Reminiscence Network and the University of Greenwich.

The seminar will be held at the University of Greenwich on October 13th from 3-6pm.

​This summer I graduated from the one year Tamalpa Institute Level 1 therapeutic training programme in movement based expressive arts. The course culminated in a seven foot self-portrait painting that reflected our personal histories and body mythologies, as well as a solo performance from each group member based on core life themes we each identified throughout the training. The training was one of the most challenging and humbling experiences I’ve encountered and has re-affirmed my appreciation of the deeply transformative power of artistic self-expression, and has also generated a wellspring of fresh creativity.

​This morning we gathered outside the Home Office to remember and mark the death of three year old year old, Aylan Kurdi, who died when an inflatable boat that he and his family were fleeing Syria in capsized, and Aylan’s body was found washed up on a Turkish beach one year ago today. Since then, thousands more terrified and desperate refugees, including hundreds of children, have lost their lives trying to reach safety in Europe.

Faith leaders, councillors from four London boroughs and celebrities, spoke about their visit to the Calais refugee camp last week and told heartbreaking stories of their meetings with children whose trauma and despair were evident. Afghani boys had to leave because they were threatened by ISIS. Syrian children had escaped war and barrel-bombs and chemical gassing. Speakers presented a letter to the Home Office this morning and urged Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, to take immediate action and bring the 387 unaccompanied refugee children in Calais to Britain. 178 of these children have a legal right to be in the UK because they have close relatives in Britain, and many others have no family at all. This is a moral and human crisis. These children need to be protected and they need care.